NPR’s Argo Project becomes the Argo Network, mixing the local and the national on reported blogs

NPR’s Argo Project (or Project Argo — it seems to vary) is starting to take shape — launch is set for one week from today, September 1. Argo is the network’s $3 million effort (with Knight and CPB money) to ramp up the online presence and reporting capacity of member stations by building a network of reported blogs grounded in topics of both national and local interest. As project director Joel Sucherman puts it, describing the now-christened Argo Network:

Each Argo site is run by a different member station, but all of them cover news that resonates nationally. While KPLU’s ‘Humanosphere’ covers the development of a burgeoning global health industry in Seattle, for example, it will also be a worthy bookmark for anyone interested in the worldwide mission to end poverty and improve health.

The sites promote each other, as in this box of “Network Highlights” that appears on article pages. It’s that network functionality that’s one of the most interesting things about Argo; NPR is made up of its member stations, and there’s long been tension between the growth of the national organization and the health of the individual stations who comprise its membership and rely on the network for much of their programming. For the mothership to be supporting local programming — even if just on the web — could smooth over what has at times been a contentious relationship. But it also raises challenges of how to make sure the content is useful to both a local and a national audience.

We’ve got the full list of Argo sites below — go check them out. Some have already softlaunched and look to be in full flower, while others are still on the Argo staging server. NPR officials declined to talk for this post, saying they’re not quite ready.

McGann, L. (2010, Aug. 25). NPR’s Argo Project becomes the Argo Network, mixing the local and the national on reported blogs. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved March 19, 2018, from http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/08/nprs-argo-project-becomes-the-argo-network-mixing-the-local-and-the-national-on-reported-blogs/

Chicago

McGann, Laura. "NPR’s Argo Project becomes the Argo Network, mixing the local and the national on reported blogs." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified August 25, 2010. Accessed March 19, 2018. http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/08/nprs-argo-project-becomes-the-argo-network-mixing-the-local-and-the-national-on-reported-blogs/.